Thursday, August 9, 2012

50 Greatest Soap Couples: #15 Sonny & Brenda From GENERAL HOSPITAL

COUPLE: Sonny Corinthos & Brenda Barrett
SHOW: GENERAL HOSPITAL
RANK: 15
PLAYED BY:
Sonny: Maurice Benard
Brenda: Vanessa Marcil
YEARS: 1993–1998, 2002–2003, 2010–2011

STORY:
Brenda was instantly drawn to Sonny and was determined to make up her own mind about him despite rumors around Port Charles that he was a bad guy.  When Sonny was shot while breaking Frank Smith out of prison, he crashed his car into Brenda's, and she brought him home to nurse his wounds.  They grew even closer but when Sonny caught Brenda wearing a wire (she was trying to prove people were wrong about him and his mob connections), he dumped her and married Lily Rivera (Lilly Melgar).  Brenda got Sonny to admit he really love her, but Lily became pregnant and Sonny stayed with his wife.  Brenda married Jasper "Jax" Jacks (Ingo Rademacher) and just as they toasted their wedding, Lily blew up in a car explosion (Clink-Boom!).

Sonny tracked down Jax's supposedly dead wife, Miranda, and reunited with Brenda.  On their wedding day, Sonny realized Brenda would never be safe and left her at the altar.   Brenda was devastated and moved on with Jax.  Brenda's mother, Veronica, came to Port Charles and in a fit of madness drove herself and Brenda off a cliff with both women presumed dead.  Four years later Brenda turned up alive.  She been fished out of the water by Luis Alcazar, and her complicated life with Sonny and Jax continued for a while.  She eventually left town but returned in 2010 when "The Balkans" were coming after her.   Sonny and Brenda reunited and were married but complications from her long lost son and the nasty Carly/Jax divorce tore them apart again.

IMPACT:
Sonny and Brenda were one of the most passionate couples in soap opera history and the superb writing of Claire Labine helped draw viewers into their story (including Jax, forming one of daytime's best love triangle).

When Marcil returned to the role of Brenda in 2002 the ratings went up (total viewers and in the key demos).

Marcil was nominated for an Emmy Award three times for her work as Brenda winning once in 2003, the same year Benard finally won (after earning seven nominations over the years).   She won three Soap Opera Digest Awards and shared a nomination with Benard in 1995 as "Hottest Soap Couple".   Benard won four Digest Awards of his own for his work at GH.

CLASSIC CLIPS:
Brenda is intrigued after meeting Sonny (1993); Plus, he catches her wearing a wire 
Sonny & Brenda's First Date
Clink-Boom! Brenda toasts with Jax just as Lily blows up (1996)
Sonny and Brenda weddings

Share your thoughts on Sonny and Brenda in our Comments section below or on our message board.

RELATED:
- 50 Greatest Soap Opera Actors: The Complete List
- 50 Greatest Soap Opera Actresses: The Complete List
- THE COMPLETE LIST: 25 Biggest Blunders In Daytime Soap Opera History

6 comments:

  1. Forgot them when making my own list but like this selection.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Totally disagree! SnB should be in the top 10. If it were me they'd be #1! Favorite couple of all time of any show daytime or prime time. Love my Sonny and Brenda!!! 8)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Probably my favorite fictional couple of all time - only Rhett and Scarlett come close! So happy they ranked in the Top 20. Of course, I would've ranked them higher... LOL But thank you for including them!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't know who the other 14 couples are, but, I can guarantee you they never brought the passion of Brenda and Sonny. They are in my opinion #1 of all time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When are the other 14 other couples on this list are going to be revealed? It's been a few days already, and we still haven't seen #14 yet!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love Sonny and Brenda!!! One of my all time favorite GH couples! They should be in the top 10 if you ask me!

    ReplyDelete